Petals of Blood

Petals of Blood Summary | Part 1: Chapter 1 Summary

Petals of Blood starts with the arrest of the four main characters in the novel. Munira is the first to be arrested, and the two officers who come for him treat him respectfully, as he is the headmaster of Ilmorog School. There has been a triple murder in Ilmorog, they tell him, and Munira is wanted for routine questioning. The next person taken into custody is Abdulla, the one-legged bar and shop owner. He has just come from a night in the hospital, and his left hand is bandaged, although we don't yet know why. The officers try to arrest Wanja next, and are greeted by a doctor who tells them she is delirious and hallucinating. He tells them that in 10 days time, she would be recovered sufficiently for questioning. Karega is the fourth suspect, and has come in late from an all-night worker's union meeting. He is sleeping when he hears the knock at the door. Karega is to be involved in a trade-union strike the following day, so when he is arrested, the strikers mistakenly think his arrest had to do with the strike. They march towards the police station, protesting his arrest and demanding his immediate release. They are told that Karega is here about a triple murder, not a strike, but the strikers continue to protest.

The headlines that day read: Mzigo, Chui, Kimeria Murdered. The articles talks about their death by burning the night before in Ilmorog, only hours after a meeting in which they decided against a pay rise for the factory workers of Ilmorog. The article goes on to talk about the huge contribution the three men made to the town of Ilmorog. They are the three African directors of the Theng'eta Breweries and Enterprises Ltd., and prominent members of the KCO.